Bombay to Bangkok is a cute romantic story with its heart in the right place. It also has a subplot within the plot, which comes as a surprise towards the end. What Nagesh Kukunoor tries to portray is that love has no boundaries and can surpass even language barriers. In his new outing, Bombay to Bangkok, he goes a step further and incorporates every ingredient available on the shelf that constitutes atypical Hindi film. This one's not 'same-same, but different' from Kukunoor's earlier films!
The narration is simple; there's nothing over the top and the moments between Shreyas Talpade [Shankar] and Lina Christianson [Jasmine] are handled very romantically. Of course, Kukunoor's expert execution of the material makes a difference and a few sequences are elevated to the watchable level, but the impact the film ought to make in totality is missing.
Shankar [Shreyas Talpade], a petty thief, in desperate need of money, steals from the local don [Naseeruddin Shah] and escapes his way into a team of doctors heading for relief work to Bangkok. Unfortunately, he loses the all-important money bag in the chaos. In Bangkok, his world turns upside down at a massage parlour where he bumps into Jasmine [Lena]. A ray of hope comes his way the next day when Jasmine turns up desperately in need of a doctor! Shankar, posing as a doctor along with the Sardar buddy Rachinder, jumps into this whirlpool, while Jasmine soon gets pulled into his bumbling adventures while running away from the don and his son [Vijay Maurya].
Kukunoor is letdown by the writing. Yet, it must be mentioned that Kukunoor's comedies aren't the leave-your-brains-behind types, but inclined towards the Hrishi-da-Basuda variety, which is always welcome. The songs are soothing, with 'Same Same But Different' and 'Mausam Suhana' being well-tuned tracks. Cinematography is alright, although one feels that Kukunoor should've set the film in Bangkok, not at a secluded spot outside Bangkok. Shreyas is a fine actor and he proves his abilities yet again. Lena, the Thai actress, is equally competent. The actor enacting the role of Rachinder is good. Vijay Maurya is excellent. Yateen Karyekar is alright. Naseeruddin Shah is there for just one scene.
On the whole, Bombay to Bangkok has a few enjoyable moments, but that's about it.
